I write about style, art, culture, watches and high-end cars as a staff writer for Forbes. Whether I'm talking with Bernard Arnault, Jeff Koons or Ralph Lauren, my goal is to explore life from the inside, to figure out what success means to those who believe they have attained it--or are well on their way. Write to me at helliott@forbes.com. You can also follow me on Twitter (@HannahElliott), Instagram (@HannahElliottxo), Facebook and Google+.

Want To Drive Like The Great Gatsby? Try One Of These Cars

Today marks the opening weekend for The Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrmann’s spectacular ode to the glorious and dark decadence of the 1920s.

Gatsby has been getting sour reviews, but I liked it: It promises no intellectualism or depth, and delivers fully, dazzlingly, on that promise. In fact F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book was never supposed to be centered on strict reality anyway but was a lyric of style created to capture a certain feeling at a particular moment in time.

The film strikes the same chord: it’s the type of grand theatre only Luhrmann can produce, chock full of the same impossibility that so endeared fans to Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge.

The props don’t hurt, either. Diamonds by Tiffany & CoTiffany & Co., clothing by Miu Miu and PradaPrada and music by Jay-Z boost its boozy spectacle to such heights that you hardly realize you’re too high to come down without a crash.

Not least among the objects d’art in Gatsby’s cosmos are the cars: a brilliant yellow 1929 Duesenberg steals the show as Leonardo DiCaprio drives it recklessly through Long Island. A 1930 Buick, a 1933 Auburn, a couple Packards and a Ford Model A also appear as extras. (Many of them, if you want to get picky, were made after the book’s 1922 original setting.)

Each were considered luxury vehicles at the time. The American brand Duesenberg had possibly the highest pedigree of all, well in the ranks of Bentley and Bugatti. They were considered among the best motorized machines available, built entirely by hand for a small fortune and driven exclusively by American elites. A Duesenberg won the Indy 500 in 1924, 1925 and 1927; in 1921 Jimmy Murphy was the first American to win the French Grand Prix when he drove a Duesenberg to victory at Le Mans.

They’re worth plenty now. In 2011 the 1931 Duesenberg Model J Whittell Coupe sold at auction for $10.34 million after premiums, and a lesser-known late 1930’s-era Duesenberg convertible will fetch nearly $3 million.

“It was an extremely rare car,” says McKeel Hagerty, the head of Hagerty Insurance, which coverage high-end vintage and exotic vehicles. He said he doesn’t expect that market to cool for some time.

Other cars of the time that had nearly the same pull. The Mercer Series 5, Kissel Model 6 and Lincoln L Series have each shown strongly at Pebble Beach and other high-end car shows. In Gatsby’s day they were valued for their speed, power and durability.

Don’t expect to get quite the same reaction that Gatsby had if you drive them around today (unless you want to look like a period piece, steer toward ‘60s-era British racing cars or American muscle), but if you’re in the mood to invest, they’ll more than prove their mettle.

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